Marvel Strike Force has one of the largest rosters of playable characters on the mobile gaming market. With over 150 heroes and villains to choose from and new additions being added regularly, it can be hard to decide which teams are worth prioritizing to get the biggest payoff. While the latest and greatest teams pack a significant punch, several squads of the older tried and true protectors of the world are still just as viable for aspiring commanders looking to boost their collection's power level.
Teams can be made up of heroes and villains from all over the multiverse, but the strongest synergies are found among heroes who are known to fight together. With the right strategy, these teams are still forces to be reckoned with and are easier to upgrade than their premium counterparts. Even for the most villainous among us, investing in a few strong hero teams in Marvel Strike Force is a good strategy to unlock stronger characters in the Hero Campaign.
10 Wave One Avengers
One of the first teams new players will have access to is the Wave One Avengers, but don't count them out just because they're the ones on the box. This recognizable team has decent synergies for clearing the early Hero Campaign, and most of their members can be added to other more specialized teams down the road.
As one might expect, the Wave One Avengers include Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk. Cap's Assemble! ability makes him even tankier when he's surrounded by his fellow Avengers, and team-up attacks with both Thor and Iron Man give the team a higher damage output. Hawkeye shards can be farmed early in the game from Heroes 1-9, making him a strong option for newer players.
- Captain America shards can be farmed from Nexus 1-3.
- Hawkeye shards can be farmed from Heroes 1-9.
- Black Widow shards can be farmed from Villains 1-9.
- Thor shards can be farmed from Heroes 7-3.
- Hulk shards are awarded for completing achievements.
- Iron Man shards are available through the I Am Iron Man event, which requires a S.H.I.E.L.D. team.
9 S.H.I.E.L.D.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. team has fallen a long way since Marvel Strike Force's debut, but their team synergies are still strong. Despite not having any superpowers to speak of, the additional blocks, heals, and bonuses to critical hit provided by S.H.I.E.L.D. Security, S.H.I.E.L.D. Medic, and S.H.I.E.L.D. Assault can punch through raids and are a strong defense in Alliance War.
The core of a S.H.I.E.L.D. team is going to be Security, Medic, and Assault, but the last two spots can up their potential quite a bit. Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow are also members of S.H.I.E.L.D., and as such can give minion characters the boost they need in intermediate levels.
Beyond that, Agent Coulson and Nick Fury are longer term options that can make the team sticky and hard to get rid of. Kestral, one of the strongest characters in Marvel Strike Force, also shares a lot of compatibility with Nick Fury, although currently there is no way to farm her in the game; Kestral is currently only randomly available in premium orbs.
- S.H.I.E.L.D. Assault shards can be farmed from Nexus 2-3.
- S.H.I.E.L.D. Medic shards can be farmed from Villains 1-6.
- S.H.I.E.L.D. Security shards can be purchased for Arena Credits in the Arena Store.
- Agent Coulson shards can be purchased for Blitz Credits in the Blitz Store.
- Nick Fury shards are available through the Chasing Fury event, which requires a Kree Minion team.
- Kestral shards are currently only available through premium orbs and limited events.
8 X-men
The X-men can be an offensive powerhouse, but the number of characters they synergize with can make it difficult to decide who is best to include in a team. An optimal X-men team includes Wolverine, Cyclops, Psylocke, Colossus, and Phoenix.
Wolverine is easy to power up due to being the daily objective reward--keep playing, he'll be seven stars in no time! Cyclops and Psylocke provide support in the form of extra attacks and flipping negative status effects, while Colossus acts as a reliable tank who can apply Deflect to his allies.
In the worst-case scenario, Phoenix, should she be taken out, revives as Dark Phoenix, who both heals her remaining allies and dishes out massive damage. Unfortunately, Phoenix is one of the harder characters to unlock, but Beast's support abilities can be a strong substitution.
- Psylocke shards can be farmed from Cosmic 3-6.
- Colossus shards can be farmed from Heroes 7-9.
- Beast shards can be farmed from Nexus 5-6.
- Wolverine shards are awarded for completing daily objectives.
- Cyclops shards can be purchased periodically for Raid Credits in the Raid Store.
- Phoenix shards are available through the Phoenix Rising event, which requires a Mystic Controller team.
7 X-Factor
X-Factor are another batch of genetically enhanced characters with high damage output. X-Factor includes Polaris, Shatterstar, Longshot, and Multiple Man.
Mojoverse mutant Shatterstar has offensive abilities that only get deadlier when combined with Longshot's ability to boost his allies' chance for a critical hit, which then procs Shatterstar's even more boosted abilities. To keep them safe, Multiple Man creates dozens of Dupes for the enemy to waste their hits on, while still providing buffs of his own. Polaris rounds out the team with her support abilities that protect her allies and negative effects that prevent opponents from healing.
X-Factor currently only has four characters, so the fifth slot is a wildcard. Kestral is a strong recommendation for her Lightspeed Blitz, which takes advantage of Polaris' ability to reposition enemy teams tightly together. Polaris sets them up, and Kestral bowls them down!
- Polaris shards can be farmed from Cosmic 1-6.
- Multiple Man shards can be farmed from Doom 3-9.
- Shatterstar shards can be purchased for Arena Credits in the Arena Store.
- Longshot shards can be purchased periodically for Raid Credits in the Raid Store.
- Kestral shards are currently only available through premium orbs and limited events.
6 Power Armor
Despite their name, the Power Armor team is a strong offensive choice with their attack buffs and defensive debuffs. The team includes Iron Man, Ironheart, Rescue, Falcon, and War Machine.
Falcon and War Machine may seem underpowered, with most of their toolkit devoted to attack without much else, but when combined with Iron Man's innate Stark Upgrades ability, they gain an increase in crit chance and damage output that really allow them to shine.
Ironheart's Heart Breaker AoE further increases the damage, inflicting Defense Down for two turns when fully upgraded. Rescue and Ironheart both support the team with defensive buffs and barriers to keep them safe while they heal with Regeneration.
- Iron Man shards are available through the I Am Iron Man event, which requires a S.H.I.E.L.D. team.
- Ironheart shards can be purchased for Blitz Credits in the Blitz Store.
- Rescue shards can be purchased for Blitz Credits in the Blitz Store.
- Falcon shards can be farmed from Nexus 7-3.
- War Machine shards can be purchased periodically for Raid Credits in the Raid Store.
5 Defenders
Hell's Kitchen's own Defenders live up to their name by being one of the strongest defensive teams for Alliance War. This team of city heroes includes Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and, although he isn't officially on the team, Punisher.
Luke Cage and Iron Fist are the defensive core of this group, with Cage's Power Man and Unbreakable abilities bolstering their defensive stats, and Iron Fist clearing negative effects and providing a constant stream of healing. Jessica Jones provides additional defense with Denial boosting the team's resistance and clearing more negative effects with Shake It Off.
The damage on this team comes from the combination of Daredevil, who is great at mixing up large enemy teams, and Punisher. When fully upgraded, Frank Castle gets a higher chance to assist Defender allies when they don't attack, and he also fires a retaliation shot at every enemy who attacks Daredevil.
- Luke Cage shards can be purchased for Blitz Credits in the Blitz Store.
- Iron Fist shards can be farmed from Nexus 1-9.
- Jessica Jones shards can be farmed from Villains 2-9.
- Daredevil shards can be purchased for Arena Credits in the Arena Store.
- Punisher shards can be farmed from Heroes 1-6.
4 Heroes for Hire
A more premium version of the Defenders team is Heroes for Hire, which adds Colleen Wing, Misty Knight, and Shang-chi to the defensive core of Luke Cage and Iron Fist. Together, they are one of the strongest Alliance War defense teams in the game.
Cage and Iron Fist's defensive power works just as well for HoH as it does for the Defenders, but their offensive potential is boosted by Colleen Wing and Shang-chi's high damage multi-target attacks. Misty Knight backs Collen up with powerful attacks that debuff enemy teams and can't be blocked while both of them are alive.
Unfortunately, both Colleen Wing and Shang-chi are currently premium characters whose shards can only be obtained randomly in premium orbs, making them difficult characters to upgrade their star ranks.
- Luke Cage shards can be purchased for Blitz Credits in the Blitz Store.
- Iron Fist shards can be farmed from Nexus 1-9.
- Misty Knight shards can be purchased for Blitz Credits in the Blitz Store.
- Colleen Wing shards are currently only available through premium orbs and limited events.
- Shang-chi shards are currently only available through premium orbs and limited events.
3 Guardians
The Guardians are a quirky group who excel in Blitz and attacking in Alliance War. The team includes Star-Lord, Groot, Rocket Racoon, Mantis, and Gamora.
Groot is the heart of this team with his powerful healing and support abilities. Groot and Rocket key off each other when included together, boosting the latter's survivability and attack power tremendously. Star-Lord's kit helps him build up ability energy for his allies, and get assists from Rocket for extra damage. Mantis is this team's primary healer, and being a Guardian, she benefits from all the buffs the team gives to each other.
However, at higher difficulties, Mantis should be swapped out for the off-brand Minn-Erva. Minn-Erva's support capacity is higher than Mantis', and she still enjoys a few team buffs by being a Tech character. Similarly, Gamora is a hard-hitting attacker who shares the Guardians title, but will likely need to be replaced later in the game by Vision or her foster father, Thanos.
- Groot shards can be farmed from Nexus 2-9.
- Rocket Racoon shards can be purchased periodically for Raid Credits in the Raid Store.
- Mantis shards can be purchased for Blitz Credits in the Blitz Store.
- Gamora shards can be purchased for Blitz Credits in the Blitz Store.
- Star-Lord shards are available through the Space Ace event, which requires a Guardians/Ravager team.
- Minn-Erva shards can be purchased periodically for Raid Credits in the Raid Store.
- Vision shards can be farmed from Nexus 3-9.
- Thanos shards can be farmed from Nexus 8-9.
2 Asgardians
Powerful defensive warriors from across the stars, the Asgardians are a unique team comprised of Thor, Loki, Sif, Heimdall, and Hela. Loki and Hela are technically villains, but considering the majority of this team is on the side of good, they warrant inclusion on this list.
Thor and Heimdall are this team's primary offensive characters. The God of Thunder's powerful Lightning Storm ability is capable of damaging all enemy characters, while Heimdall can gain assists from his Asgardian allies. Sif is this team's tank who, when fully upgraded, gets a 25% chance to block, with an additional 10% for each Asgardian ally she has.
In lieu of a designated healer, the Asgardians are healed for a low percentage by Heimdall and Hela on each of their turns. Hela and Loki also further empower the team by summoning undead Asgardians and mirror images, populating their side of the fight with too many targets for the opponent to handle. As one might expect of a team including the guardian of the Bifrost, the Asgardians are strongest when put on defense in Alliance War.
- Thor shards can be farmed from Heroes 7-3.
- Loki shards can be farmed from Mystic 3-6.
- Sif shards can be purchased periodically for Raid Credits in the Raid Store.
- Heimdall shards can be purchased for Arena Credits in the Arena Store.
- Hela shards can be farmed from Villains 7-6.
1 Inhumans
While less popular than most other heroes in Marvel Strike Force, the Inhumans can be effective in nearly every situation due to their high damage resistance. The team includes Black Bolt, Crystal, Karnak, Ms. Marvel, and Yo-yo.
Black Bolt is the powerful core of this team, so it may take some time before newer players get their hands on him. Being a Legendary character, Black Bolt requires a full five-star team of Asgardians to unlock. Black Bolt's Sonic Scream is essentially a powered-up version of Thor's Lightning Storm, and his innate King of Attilan ability prevents any enemies he takes out from being revived. Yo-yo also ups the team's survivability by inflicting Offense Down on every enemy before they attack, making them very powerful in raids.
- Black Bolt shards are available through the Unite the Kingdoms event, which requires an Asgardian team.
- Crystal shards can be purchased for Arena Credits in the Arena Store.
- Karnak shards can be farmed from Nexus 8-6.
- Ms. Marvel shards can be farmed from Mystic 2-6.
- Yo-yo shards can be purchased periodically for Raid Credits in the Raid Store.
Whichever group players decide to pursue, the fun of Marvel Strike Force is chasing the meta, whether that means building a team established in the comics or finding character synergies in unlikely alliances. There is no "one size fits all" solution to team building, and different teams excel in different aspects of the game. With new characters constantly being added to Marvel Strike Force, players never know which team will become the next top performer.
Marvel Strike Force is available on Android and iOS devices.